During the reign of Charlemagne in the ninth century, many Carolingian artists looked to the art and culture of the past in creating new works. This ivory plaque shows the evangelist John displaying the gospel he wrote. The book is inscribed with the gospel's first line: In principio erat verbum (In the beginning was the word). John, and the eagle that is his symbol, sit under an elaborate arch, inspired by the architecture of classical antiquity. John also wears a classical pallium and mantle. On the border of the ivory plaque appears an inscription in Latin. It is based on a line from the Carmen Paschale, a poem by the fifth-century writer Sedulius.

[across top of plaque]MOREVLANSAQVILEVERBUM PETITASTRA [JOANNES?] (more volans aquile verbo petit astra Joannes) (By means of the flying eagle, St. John through the world reaches the heavens [Sedulius])